Portable savings-bank.



J. H. GUNNES.

PORTABLE SAVINGS BANK.

APPLICATION FILED BEPT.18, 1909.

942,638. I I Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

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v mmzsw. a GR HAM co. mommmoemmzns, vusnmsmu u c JOHAN HENRY GUNNES, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

PORTABLE savrnes-sanit.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 126 9.

Application filed September 18, 1.909. Serial No. 518,373.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHAN HENRY GUN" mas, citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and Stateof Ti'ashington, have invented certain new and useful. improvements in Portable Savings- Banks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to receptacles designed for receiving and storing coins of various denominations, and has especial reference to that class of devices in which the deposit is retained by contrivances which prevent the contents from being removed without breaking the box or forcing the cats ing apart, such devices being commonly termed money boxes or savings banks The chief objects of the improvements which form the subject-matter of this application for patent are :to provide a coin deposit box of simple design so contrived that the deposited coins cannot be removed through the channel of entrance even though the box'or container be inverted and shaken about, and to furnish a money box or savings bank of such design that the article may be economically manufactured in large quantities and therefore placed upon the market at a comparatively low price.

I accomplish the desired objects by means of the device illustrated in the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this application, the details of construction being disclosed in the following views Figure l is a perspective view of a portable savings bank embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the bank with the cover removed, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the details of the drawing, the numeral 5 indicates the sides, 6 the ends, 7 the bottom and 8 the top or cover of a rectangular box or receptacle intended to receive and store money in the form of coins. A single aperture 9 is provided for the insertion of the pieces and this opening is made in the usual slot form and of a size just sui'licient to admit the largest piece of money for which the bank is designed.

I prefer to construct the entire device of wood since by the use of this material the boxes may be turned out in large quantities in an economical manner, and the simplicity of the construction will permit them to be made without the aid of special machinery, thus lessening the cost of setting up a factory for their production. hen assembled the casing may be given any desirable finish to improve its appearance, such as staining, varnishing, painting or other processes known in the arts. 5 The coin slot 9 is located near the top of one of the sides 5, and to one side of the vertical median line, being thus located so as to open into a triangular compartment or chute 10, located within the cavity of the box and serving as a guard to prevent the return of the coin through the slot 9, when the said box is inverted, and also hindering the abstraction of the money by an instrument inserted through the said slot. This chute is constructed in a simple manner, only three pieces being employed in its formation. An end piece or hanger 11, has one edge secured to the side 5 of the casing and the other edge overlapping a supporting piece or bracket 12, the. meeting margins being glued or nailed together as may be most convenient. The other end of the said bracket is secured to one of the casing ends 6 in the same manner as at the other joints. Between the said bracket 12 and the casing side 5 containing the coin slot 9 and a short distance below said slot, is arranged a bottom plate or slide 13, which is inclined at a suitable angle so that the coins will slide therefrom by gravity. The lower margin of the end piece 11 is elevated above the lower end of the slide plate 13, forming a slot let, which extends the entire width of the chute, and permits all coins to pass freely therethrough as they reach the bottom of the chute. The lower back corner of the end piece is preferably chamfered as indicated at 15 and the under side of the slide is cut away in a similar manner, adjacent to the coin aperture l t, as shown at 16. The top edges of the end piece 11 and the bracket 12 are flush with the upper margins of the sides and ends so that when the cover 8 is in place upon the casing sides the chute will be completely closed above thereby. The lower end of the chute does not reach to the bottom of the box thus leaving the lower part of the interior unobstructed in order to afford an adequate storage capacity. The cover 8 is fastened to the sides and ends by suitable screws or nails 17, which will secure the bank sufficiently against any ordinary attempts at unauthorized removal of the contents.

To use the bank, the cover being securely fastened down in the manner stated, the

coins to be deposited are pushed singly through the coin slot 9, falling immediately upon the slide, as shown at 18 in Fig. 3. The coins will then quickly slide downward, passing through the coin aperture 14k, and

thus reach the main compartment of the bank. hen the bank is full, or at any other time desired, the contents may be removed by withdrawing the screws, if the latter are used for fastenings, or prying up the cover with a suitable tool, such as the blade of an ordinary pocket knife, when nails are used to secure the top, and after the bank has been emptied it may be restored to operative condition by renailing the lid upon the casing.

This improved savings bank will be found especially useful in cases where it is desirable to distribute a large number of savings receptacles for charitable or other purposes, the simplicity and inexpensiveness of the device making it particularly available for small individual collections.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, is

A portable savings bank, comprising a rectangular box having a coin-slot extending through one of its sides, a coin-chute arranged within said box opposite said coinslot, said chute being comprised of an end piece secured by one edge to the side of the box and having its opposite edge supported by a vertical bracket-plate arranged parallel with the side of the box, an inclined bottom for the chute arranged below the coin slot and extending'between the side of the box and said bracket plate and supported thereby, and a cover adapted to form a closure for both box and coin-chute.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

J OHAN HENRY GUNNES.

\Vitnesses S. B. HARDT, J. M. CoLMAN. 

